Skip to content
Rhode Island · 2026-27 waterfowl

Rhode Island Duck & Goose Season 2026-27

Ducks: October 9, 2026 to January 24, 2027. Every date below was read from Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife’s own published page, linked beside it, inside the Atlantic Flyway framework.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
October 9, 2026 to January 24, 2027
Duck season
published
Statewide
Zones
with split segments
Atlantic
Flyway
federal framework
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Source
read 2026-09-01
The main event

Duck season in Rhode Island, zone by zone

Ducks, 2026-27

publishedAtlantic Flyway

Duck season opens in 41 days, on November 25, 2026.

Rhode Island duck seasons 2026-27, as published by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife
ZoneSeason segments
StatewideOctober 9, 2026 to October 12, 2026November 25, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 5, 2026 to January 24, 2027

Dates read from Rhode Island Hunting and Trapping 2026-2027 Seasons and Bag Limits Summary (DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife), accessed 2026-09-01.

Three-way split season statewide. Youth waterfowl days and an active military and veteran waterfowl hunt also exist.

Waterfowl hunter setting goose decoys on a tidal flat with a retriever watching
Setting decoys with help. Photo: Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS. “Waterfowl hunter and dog” — Rebecca Fabbri / USFWS Alaska Region — Public domain
Advertisement
Geese

Goose seasons in Rhode Island

Geese, 2026-27

published
Goose seasonDates
Canada goose, early seasonSeptember 1, 2026 to September 30, 2026
Canada goose, regular seasonNovember 21, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 5, 2026 to January 24, 2027
Canada goose, late seasonJanuary 30, 2027 to February 13, 2027
Snow goose (including blue goose)October 14, 2026 to January 24, 2027
BrantDecember 26, 2026 to January 24, 2027

Dates read from Rhode Island Hunting and Trapping 2026-2027 Seasons and Bag Limits Summary (DEM Division of Fish and Wildlife), accessed 2026-09-01.

RI DEM counts white-fronted geese together with Canada geese in the early season.

Canada geese dropping into a refuge wetland with wings set
Canada geese dropping into a refuge marsh. Photo: Jennifer Jewett/USFWS. “Canada Geese” by Jennifer Jewett / USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY 2.0
The structure over the state

How Rhode Island’s dates get set: the Atlantic Flyway

Waterfowl seasons are the most federal of all hunting seasons. Migratory birds cross every border, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes annual frameworks for each of the four administrative flyways, setting the earliest openers, latest closers and maximum season lengths, and each state then selects its own dates and zones inside its framework.

Rhode Island selects its dates inside the Atlantic Flyway framework. The eastern seaboard corridor, Maine to Florida, inland to West Virginia.

Large mixed flock of ducks and geese over water at sunset
A mixed flock of ducks and geese at sunset. Photo: Steve Hillebrand/USFWS. “A mixed flock of ducks and geese fly from a wetland area” — Steve Hillebrand, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain
Rules

Rhode Island waterfowl hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by, including the federal duck stamp and HIP registration every waterfowl hunter needs, is set by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlifeand USFWS, and the regulations page is linked below.

Current Rhode Island regulations

Bag limits and species restrictions, shooting hours, duck stamp and HIP requirements, license rules, and youth or veteran season details for Rhode Island are set by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife: current regulations
Father and daughter in waders with a retriever in a duckweed marsh
Father and daughter on Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Photo: Tim Miller/USFWS. “Waterfowl Hunting (Upper Mississippi River NWFR)” — Tim Miller / USFWS Midwest Region — Public domain

Duck season dates in other states

Rhode Island turkey seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: spring and fall turkey dates by zone.Rhode Island first freezeThe freeze line pushes birds south. When the first hard frost normally lands.Rhode Island deer rutThe November you are already out for. When deer actually breed.

Rhode Island waterfowl season questions

Advertisement
Wetland at sunset with a fallen snag and mountains on the horizon
Wood River Wetland, Oregon. The habitat the flyways run on. Photo: Greg Shine/BLM. “Wood River Wetland” — Greg Shine / Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, stamp and license rules are set by Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Division of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose pages are the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national waterfowl season guide.